toys for adults are a big thing in tokyo. situated in harajuku is the spiral toy shop, which is crammed with junk and collectors toys from the usa and japan. owner kayoko travels to the states every two months for more supplies to put onto the overflowing shelves of the shop. vacuum records technical toys are collector items. they developed a cd-player in a lego building-block format. speakers and system are three big plastic squares with a lego block remote control. vacuum's signature item is the vinyl killer, a vw-bus model, which drives in circles over records to play the music. the racy disk-killer is available in a metal or hip-hop look. bands like shonen knife and weezer customised the bus as a merchandising tool. the first vacuum toy was a battery powered portable record player, which cornelius used to promote his album. the vacuum records shop in harajuku has closed, but spiral toys is opens daily from 15.00-20.00.

"Towa really doesn't like interviews - and suggested to do the interview with his robot instead. It was a great idea, so we took his lookalike-robot for a taxi ride to our location. His plastic twin unfortunately doesn't move or speak yet though - but Towa promised he will tackle that challenge in the future too. "

"Cornelius is an amazing guy. And his studio might as well be a museum - full with figures and toys he picks up from Japanese toys stores that make the strangest sounds... and might end up in another track. If you listen carefully,m there are a bunch of unusual sounds on his track that came from toys. "